Deep in the bowels of the countryside’s awkward squad something stirs. The Countryside Alliance is on the march again or at least taking to its 4x4s. Having declared that the Hunting Act of 2004 was the most useless, unenforceable discredited piece of legislation ever passed by parliament the CA is taking advantage of the change in the political wind to start the practical business of getting rid of it.
With the very real prospect that Labour might not win the next election, and that David Cameron might be heading for the kind of landslide which saw Tony Blair and New Labour swept to power in 1997, the Alliance has now set up a committee to get the act repealed.
The Alliance has always said it is `apolitical’ but it’s quite clear from what their members say that there won’t be many tears shed over the demise of Labour, as it will serve the hunting lobby’s purposes well.
David Cameron has promised a free vote on repealing the act if he becomes Prime Minister. It’s fairly safe to assume the outcome would be in favour of ditching a piece of legislation which is loathed by the Tory faithful and some `Blairites’ as a symbol of what is perceived as the New Labour class struggle, and one of the few victories for the old guard over the `Modernisers’.
However there are some fences to jump first. For a start the Tories will need a majority… not just because they will need to overcome any anti-hunting sentiment in their own party…although the prime supporter of a ban, Maidstone MP Anne Widdicombe is standing down from Parliament at the next election, but it will make sure the act is repealed without too much hassle. The other possible problem is that the Tories will be running around repealing just about anything they can get their hands on…and supporters of hunting will want their cause to be at the head of the queue.
They’ll have to mud-wrestle for this one with the Estate Agents who want rid of Home Information Packs, and the NIMBYs who want eco-towns demolished before they’re even built…Then there’s the small matter of the economy to sort out. It will be a busy first parliament. If there is a sizeable Conservative majority though, repealing the Hunting Act will be relatively straightforward and the House of Lords won’t throw up too many objections so it probably won’t take up too much parliamentary time.
One of the biggest difficulties, `politically’ over hunting is that it’s the kind of thing that makes the `New Tories’ nervous, and worry that they might be seen as reverting to their old ways. Appealing to the modern middle classes might not sit too well with packs of hounds and followers chasing the fox. The urban voters the Tories need to win over are still squeamish about the idea of hounds closing in on the fox, even if in many cities foxes have become a nuisance.
There is another problem too. During the campaign against the hunting bill there was some support for a `Middle Way’ option, where hunts would be licensed. This was fiercely opposed by a lot of hunts. The Alliance will be watching closely to see that the act is repealed with no strings attached.
They’ll have to mud-wrestle for this one with the Estate Agents who want rid of Home Information Packs, and the NIMBYs who want eco-towns demolished before they’re even built…Then there’s the small matter of the economy to sort out. It will be a busy first parliament. If there is a sizeable Conservative majority though, repealing the Hunting Act will be relatively straightforward and the House of Lords won’t throw up too many objections so it probably won’t take up too much parliamentary time.
One of the biggest difficulties, `politically’ over hunting is that it’s the kind of thing that makes the `New Tories’ nervous, and worry that they might be seen as reverting to their old ways. Appealing to the modern middle classes might not sit too well with packs of hounds and followers chasing the fox. The urban voters the Tories need to win over are still squeamish about the idea of hounds closing in on the fox, even if in many cities foxes have become a nuisance.There is another problem too. During the campaign against the hunting bill there was some support for a `Middle Way’ option, where hunts would be licensed. This was fiercely opposed by a lot of hunts. The Alliance will be watching closely to see that the act is repealed with no strings attached.
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